Parkhurst takes home Defender of the Year honor

Soccer Betting Lines

11/05/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced Monday that New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst has been selected as the 2007 Defender of the Year. The award is his second major award of the 2007 season and the fourth of his career. Last week, Parkhurst was awarded the MLS Fair Play Award.

The Defender of the Year was determined by equal voting from the media, MLS players and MLS coaches and general managers. Parkhurst was a finalist for the award with Houston's Eddie Robinson and Chivas USA's Claudio Suarez.

"I'm honored to be voted the league's defender of the year," Parkhurst said. "There are a lot of great defenders in this league so to be singled out is humbling. Both Claudio (Suarez) and Eddie (Robinson) had excellent years and were big components of their teams' success."

"Any defensive award is also a testament to the whole team, so my teammates - from the back to the front - are a big part of this honor," Parkhurst said.

Parkhurst, 23, a native of Cranston, R.I., and former Wake Forest University Demon Deacon, appeared as a First XI selection to the 2007 MLS All-Star team where the MLS All-Stars defeated Celtic FC 2-0 on July 19. He played in and started 25 games at central defender for the Revolution, who finished in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 14-8-8 record.

Parkhurst missed the first three games of the season recovering from a preseason shoulder injury, but came back to anchor a defense that recorded 10 shutouts, and two more in their first two games of the MLS Cup Playoffs. His fine form since joining the league has also led to his inclusion as a member of the U.S. Men's National Team. He represented the United States in their victorious run in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Previously, Parkhurst was the 2005 winner of the Rookie of the Year award, a two-time MLS All-Star and the 2006 U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year.

Parkhurst and the Revolution return to action on Thursday when they play in their MLS-record sixth consecutive Eastern Conference Championship. The Revs will host the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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